Drew Dorian is a lifelong car enthusiast who has also held a wide variety of consumer-focused positions throughout his career, ranging from financial counselor to auto salesperson. He has dreamed of becoming a Car and Driver editor since he was 11 years old—a dream that was realized when he joined the staff in April 2016. He''s a born-and-raised Michigander and learned to drive on a 1988 Pontiac Grand Am. His automotive interests run the gamut from convertibles and camper vans to sports cars and luxury SUVs.
Austin Irwin has worked for Car and Driver for over 10 years in various roles. He''s steadily worked his way from an entry-level data entry position into driving vehicles for photography and video, and is now reviewing and testing cars. What will he do next? Who knows, but he better be fast.
Range, efficiency, and base price: This guide will help you decide on the EV that works best for you.
The adoption of plug-in electric vehicles in the United States is supported by the American federal government, and several states and local governments.
As of December 2023[update], cumulative sales in the U.S. totaled 4,7 million plug-in electric cars since 2010, led by all-electric cars.[4] Sales totaled 1,402,371 units in 2023, with a market share of 9.1%. This was the first time the American market surpassed the 1 million sales mark.[4] The American stock represented 20% of the global plug-in car fleet in use by the end of 2019 and the U.S. had the world''s third largest stock of plug-in passenger cars after China (47%) and Europe (25%).[5]
The Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 and later the Inflation Reduction Act granted federal tax credits for new qualified plug-in electric vehicles, worth up to US$7,500.[17][18] As of 2014[update], Washington, D.C. and 37 states and had established incentives and tax or fee exemptions for BEVs and PHEVs, or utility-rate breaks, and other non-monetary incentives such as free parking and high-occupancy vehicle lane access.[19]
Articles about plug-in electric vehicles in individual states:
Considering that actual PEV sales were lower than initially expected, as of early 2013, several industry observers have concluded that this goal was unattainable.[22][23][24][25] Obama''s goal was achieved only in September 2018.[26][27]
In 2008, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums announced a nine-step policy plan for transforming the Bay Area into the "Electric Vehicle (EV) Capital of the U.S.".[28] Other local and state governments have also expressed interest in electric cars.[29]
Governor of California Jerry Brown issued an executive order in March 2012 that established the goal of getting 1.5 million zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) on California roads by 2025.[30][31][32]
In March 2009, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the U.S. Department of Energy announced the release of two competitive solicitations for up to $2 billion in federal funding for competitively awarded cost-shared agreements for manufacturing of advanced batteries and related drive components as well as up to $400 million for transportation electrification demonstration and deployment projects. This initiative aimed to help meet President Barack Obama''s goal of putting one million plug-in electric vehicles on the road by 2015.[20][36]
First the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, and later the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES) granted tax credits for new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles.[17] The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) also authorized federal tax credits for converted plug-ins, though the credit is lower than for new plug-in electric vehicle (PEV).[37]
As defined by the 2009 ACES Act, a PEV is a vehicle which draws propulsion energy from a traction battery with at least 5 kwh of capacity and uses an offboard source of energy to recharge such battery.[17] The tax credit for new plug-in electric vehicles is worth US$2,500 plus US$417 for each kilowatt-hour of battery capacity over 5 kwh, and the portion of the credit determined by battery capacity cannot exceed US$5,000. Therefore, the total amount of the credit, between US$2,500 and US$7,500, will vary depending on the capacity of the battery (4 to 16 kWh) used to power the vehicles.[38]
A 2016 study conducted by researchers from the University of California, Davis found that the federal tax credit was the reason behind more than 30% of the plug-in electric sales. The impact of the federal tax incentive is higher among owners of the Nissan Leaf, with up to 49% of sales attributable to the federal incentive. The study, based on a stated preference survey of more than 2,882 plug in vehicle owners in 11 states, also found that the federal tax credit shifts buyers from internal combustion engine vehicles to plug-in vehicles and advances the purchase timing of new vehicles by a year or more.[41]
A January 2024 study from the University of Michigan Center for Sustainable Systems found that the $7,500 tax credit and other federal incentives were needed to make BEVs cost competitive with ICEVs in many locations and for many vehicle classes.[46]
Electric vehicle purchases made in the U.S. are eligible for $2,500 to $7,500, depending on the make and model of the vehicle, in federal tax credit.[51]
The following table summarizes some of the state incentives:[52][53]
Several separate initiatives have been pursued unsuccessfully at the federal level since 2011 to transform the tax credit into an instant cash rebate. The objective of these initiatives is to make new qualifying plug-in electric cars more accessible to buyers by making the incentive more effective. The rebate would be available at the point of sale allowing consumers to avoid a wait of up to a year to apply the tax credit against income tax returns.[74][75][76]
In March 2014, the Obama administration included a provision in the FY 2015 Budget to increase the maximum tax credit for plug-in electric vehicles and other advanced vehicles from US$7,500 to US$10,000. The new maximum tax credit would not apply to luxury vehicles with a sales price of over US$45,000, such as the Tesla Model S and the Cadillac ELR, which would be capped at US$7,500.[77] In November 2017, House Republicans proposed scrapping the US$7,500 tax credit as part of a sweeping tax overhaul.[78]
On March 7, 2012, President Barack Obama launched the EV Everywhere Challenge as part of the U.S. Department of Energy''s Clean Energy Grand Challenges, which seeks to solve some of the U.S. biggest energy challenges and make clean energy technologies affordable and accessible to the vast majority of American households and businesses. The EV Everywhere Challenge has the goal of advancing electric vehicle technologies to have the country, by 2022, to produce a five-passenger electric vehicle that would provide both a payback time of less than five years and the ability to be recharged quickly enough to provide enough range for the typical American driver.[83][84]
In January 2013 the Department of Energy (DoE) published the "EV Everywhere Grand Challenge Blueprint," which set the technical targets of the PEV program in four areas: battery research and development; electric drive system research and development; vehicle lightweighting; and advanced climate control technologies. The DoE set several specific goals, established in consultation with stakeholders.[85] The key goals to be met over the next five years to make plug-in electric vehicles competitive with conventional fossil fuel vehicles are:
The DoE aim is to level the purchase plus operating (fuel) cost of an all-electric vehicle with a 280 mi (450 km) range with the costs of an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle of similar size. The DoE expects than even before the latter goals are met, the 5-year cost of ownership of most plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and of all-electric vehicles with shorter ranges, such as 100 mi (160 km), will be comparable to the same cost of ICE vehicles of similar size.[85][86]
In order to achieve these goals, the DoE is providing up to US$120 million over the next five years to fund the new Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (JCESR), a research center led by the Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago.[86][87] An initial progress report for the initiative was released in January 2014. Four results of the first year of the initiative were reported:[88]
The U.S. Army announced in 2009 that it will lease 4,000 Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs) within three years. The Army plans to use NEVs at its bases for transporting people around the base, as well as for security patrols and maintenance and delivery services. The Army accepted its first six NEVs at Virginia''s Fort Myer in March 2009 and will lease a total of 600 NEVs through the rest of the year, followed by the leasing of 1,600 NEVs for each of the following two years.[91]
U.S. Air Force officials announced, in August 2011, a plan to establish Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, as the first federal facility to replace 100% of its general purpose fleet with plug-in electric vehicles. As part of the program, all Air Force-owned and -leased general purpose fleet vehicles on the base will be replaced with PEVs. There are approximately 40 eligible vehicles, ranging from passenger sedans to two-ton trucks and shuttle buses. The replacement PEVs include all-electric, plug-in hybrids, and extended-range electric vehicles. Electrification of Los Angeles AFB''s general purpose fleet is the first step in a Department of Defense effort to establish strategies for large-scale integration of PEVs.[92]
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